"In this second edition of Nancy Hoffman's acclaimed history, we discover the struggles and joys of women who did some of the most important work in early America--they taught. Hoffman is especially attentive to the experiences of African American teachers as she gives us a fuller sense of how race and gender were mixed with education. In Hoffman's history there are many lessons for today." -- Johnnetta Betsch Cole, President, Bennett College for Women

"Nancy Hoffman brings us--in their words--the experiences and ideas of women whose work built public education, and who changed it. This remarkable book brings life and light to many of the most important moments in the history of schooling, and should be read by all who study schools--or care about them." -- David K. Cohen, John Dewey Collegiate Professor of Education and Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy, University of Michigan

"If we were to choose one book that every teacher and every parent should read, it would be Nancy Hoffman's Woman's "True" Profession. Hoffman traces the history of teaching from the days of the one-room schoolhouse, to the schools of the rural South after the Civil War, to the teeming urban classrooms of the early twentieth century. This celebration of teachers and teaching places them in the honored position they deserve. This new edition will take its place on the bookshelf of classics on American Education." -- Katherine C. Boles and Vivian Troen, Coauthors of Who's Teaching Your Children

Nancy Hoffman has taught and been an administrator at Brown, Temple and Harvard universities. She is currently a vice president at Jobs for the Future.